Crossfire War – Tehran – Tirana – Pristina Watch – Southeast Europe Theatre: Tehran – Tirana – Ankara – Pristina/(Vienna – Warsaw)/Kosovska Mitrovica – Belgrade – Athens – Moscow; Iran Increases Weapon Support to Albania – Priming The Balkans – Avenue of Invasion
Night Watch: TIRANA – Tehran has instructed its Ambassador to Tirana, Ali Beman Eqbali Zarech, to meet the Albanian Minister of Transports, Sokol Oldashi, in order for Iran to ship more military equipment to Albania, which will enable Tirana to increase its military support for the Albanian nationalists in Kosovo when they declare their independence from Serbia in July.
That will of course set off the next war in the Balkans, a conflict Tehran had long planned to use to not only keep NATO and European Union forces busy put to prime the Balkans as Iran’s avenue of invasion into Europe. That would destroy the West’s ability to have any major influence in West Asia (Middle East) in the near future. I suspect Zarech is suggesting to the Albanian officials in Tirana that it may be more effective if the ethnic Albanians in Kosovo continue to emphasize attacks against the offices of the United Nations and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).
Whenever Albanians in Kosovo demonstrated, late last year and early in this one, it was UN-OSCE offices and vehicles that were burned since both international organizations have delayed official recognition of Kosovo independence and it seemed like both organizations were close to doing so. [IRNA]
In monitoring the latest regional developments Tehran noticed the NATO escort of Serbian nationalists and militia members to Gracanica, Kosovo. It has also become known Washington Ambassador to Belgrade, Michael Polt, has indicated Washington is now willing to agree Kosovo should remain part of Serbia. This is the “crisis of trust” Kosovo Albanian Prime Minister Agim Ceku warned about recently if international recognition is delayed again. As crossfirewar.com has stated repeatedly, Tehran does not care how the war resumes as long as the fighting can be used to silence Vienna and end the investigation into Tehran’s nuclear weapons program by the UN agency based there. So Tehran has maintained excellent investment-military relations with every government in the former Yugoslavia and also I suspect with Albanian nationalist groups like the Albanian National Army (ANA).
Tehran followed up with those close relations by signing a security agreement with Belgrade in January 2006 as did Athens with Belgrade last November. At the time of the signing it appeared Brussels-Vienna were poised to recognize Kosovo’s independence even if it meant NATO would have another war with Serbia as it did in 1999. But Serbia has re-armed with support from Russia-Iran, and Belgrade made no secret they would fight for Kosovo.
Brussels has obviously concluded a re-armed Serbia is more dangerous than some Albanian guerrillas and whatever support Tirana can arrange, but now Tehran is meeting the Albanian Minister of Transports in order to ship-transport more equipment that will find its way to Albanian nationalists who Iran wants to target NATO-UN. There will of course be some fighting between Albanians and Serbs as the Serbian militias react immediately in defense of Belgrade’s control over the province, but I would not be surprised if Tirana also convinces the Albanians in Kosovo that Brussels and NATO are more of an enemy, an obstacle especially since the recent betrayal, the reversal of Brussels position from supporting Kosovo independence to escorting Serbian nationalists.
But this is not the limit or the end of Southeast Europe’s hatred of Brussels-Vienna. The division of Yugoslavia divided more than Yugoslavia. From the very beginning of the first wars that resulted from Yugoslavia’s division, 1991-95, Brussels, through the UN, imposed severe economic sanctions on Serbia which every government in Southeast Europe help Serbia break; Greece-Romania-Bulgaria and also Albania.
It was even kept secret there were Greeks fighting alongside Serbs at the time and that would have been especially embarrassing to NATO if that were made more public. So though the next outbreak begins in Kosovo, nationalists all over the former Yugoslavia from Macedonia to Croatia will find their reasons to attack the international military occupation whether the units are from NATO-EU-UN.
When Tehran established relations with Zagreb, the seat of Croatia’s government in 1992, Iran announced Croatia was their entry into Central Europe. Since then Berlin has sent to Poland Leopard tanks, Washington has sent F-16s to Poland’s Air Force and Moscow has been helping Poland upgrade its Soviet era warplanes. Russia does not want Iran to have any easy victories. By the time Warsaw has to commit itself to the fighting, and meet Iran’s invasion later this summer, NATO will no longer be an effective fighting force.
www.crossfirewar.com
